


Bring The Past With You

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Stellar Flash Fiction [22]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Romance, Arguing, Bickering, Bittersweet, Cuddling, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Forced Kiss, Kissing, Kissing and cuddling, M/M, Make-Up Sex Discussed, Manhandling, Mementos, Memorabilia, Nostalgia, Nostalgic McCoy, Protective Spock, Sexual Distraction, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 02:01:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11567991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: Now that he is with Spock, McCoy considers discarding mementos of former relationships.





	Bring The Past With You

A wilted rose from Sherry‘s wedding. 

An empty dance card from that embarrassing prom when the wall flowers wouldn’t even dance with him. 

The stem of a broken champagne glass when that college coed had broken up with him. McCoy frowned. What was her name again?

A faded photograph of a couple frolicking in the incoming tide. Jocelyn looked curvy. He looked scrawny. They had been so in love.

The tassel from a graduation cap. McCoy pondered. Whose tassel was this? Was it even his? 

“What are you looking at, Leonard?”

“Junk from another life, Spock. I think it’s time to let it go, now that we‘re together. I don‘t need reminders of other lives, now that I‘ve got you.”

“It meant something to you once. I will not let you throw away a part of your life.”

“But I want to make a clean sweep for you.”

“These items are your identity. They influenced you and made you unique.”

“I’m unique, alright.” McCoy’s grin was wistful and almost verged on bitterness.

“Would you want me to be any less than what I am right now?”

“Less judgmental would be a refreshing change,” McCoy chided.

“You would not like me if I was agreeable and conceded to everything you said.”

“Well, there’s times I wouldn’t mind if you conceded just a little bit--”

“Do you believe I would not want you to be as acerbic and as mule headed as you normally are?”

“Now, wait a minute! You’re getting a little sharp with your choice of words there, aren‘t you?! You better back off before we get in one helluva row, and you have to sleep in the bathtub by yourself, or huddled in a cold heap in the corner, or curled around a chair leg somewhere!”

“You would be the first one to complain about those arrangements, because you cannot sleep by yourself now. Moreover, you would be worried about me and would join me wherever I was, be it in the bathtub or the cold corner or around a chair leg. You would want to try to keep me warm, a fact that I appreciate very much.”

McCoy gave him a disgusted look. “You think you know me so well!”

“I do,” Spock said smugly. “And one reason you would instigate an argument, as you are doing now, is for the makeup sex.”

McCoy uncrossed his arms. “Makeup sex?! As if I’d lower myself to have sexual relations with you after the way you’ve been treating me for the last few minutes!”

“Tell me then why you are trying to instigate an argument with me?”

“To prove that I’m right! Why do you generally argue?!”

“I do not have arguments.”

“The hell you don’t!”

“I have discussions. I might even engage in differences of opinion. But I never have arguments.”

“Don’t look, Vulcan! But you’re knee-deep in the middle of a beauty right now!”

“I am not knee deep in the middle of anything, except maybe oxygen. If I was to bend to knee level, I could still breathe adequately. Ergo, there is as much oxygen at the level of my knees as at the level of my nose.”

“What in blue blazing hell are you blathering about?! It’s an argument, pure and simple!”

“I do not know if there is anything pure and simple about it. Any of the Greek philosophers would be inclined to argue with your hypothesis.” 

“There! See?! You used the word ‘argue!’ You have just recognized this ‘discussion’ as such! YOU elevated it into the stratosphere of an argument!”

“Your eyes are shining, Leonard. That tends to alarm me.”

“My eyes shine that way when I am winning a ‘discussion!’”

“Please control yourself, Leonard. I will concede.”

“You’re conceding for the wrong reason! You should concede because you’ve lost our ‘discussion,’ not because you believe I’ll burst a blood vessel if I don’t calm down!”

“Perhaps you are correct about everything, Leonard. Please relax.”

“Now you’re being just plain condescending!”

“There is no winning with you, Leonard.”

“Damn straight!” McCoy declared. His eyes were bright with success and his nose was filled with the scent of victory. But he wouldn‘t leave it alone. “Why do you believe that I argue?”

Spock did not point out that McCoy had just used the word ‘argue‘ about himself. Spock inwardly chalked up the victory for himself and fed more bait to McCoy. “Because you are trying to get a reaction out of me.”

“I don’t know why I’d try to do something stupid like that,” McCoy grumbled, visibly cooling now that he had won. But his supposed victory felt somewhat hollow. “Why would I deliberately pick a fight with you?”

“You like it when I get frustrated, grab you, and force you to kiss me.”

“And why would I want to do something stupid like that?!”

“Because we both like it so much. I will demonstrate.” He grabbed McCoy.

“Here! What the hell?!”

“A little scientific experiment, Leonard.” Spock dove for McCoy’s lips.

Everything got ominously quiet in the room.

“Well, you might have a point there,” McCoy muttered. “But you didn’t need to manhandle me. You almost chipped a tooth.”

“You moved and spoiled my aim.”

“You’d move, too, if a green bullet came hurtling your direction!”

“Cuddling is enjoyable, but not solving what to do with your memorabilia.”

McCoy moved away. “Toss the whole mess!”

“You will regret it later. Then you will rant about your loss, and then I will regret it.”

“Why should I?! Most of it gave me angst at the time, and it still does!”

“But you cannot purge so indiscriminately. Would you blithely toss me aside?”

“Hell, no! I’m not finished with you yet! In fact, that kiss gave me ideas!”

“We cannot. Jim is waiting.”

“Jim can wait! Come here!”

“Do you intend to manhandle me?”

“Oh, I’m intending to do much more than that!”

“How is that different than what I did?”

“I’m giving you fair warning!”

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing of Star Trek, its characters, and/or its story lines.


End file.
